Sculpture and Installation

Heather Lamanno ’19 and Hallie Bahn ’19 - collaborative installation "Underpinning," at Gallery 148 at MCAD. — Heather Lamanno ’19 and Hallie Bahn ’19 – collaborative installation “Underpinning,” at Gallery 148 at MCAD.

Situated within an interdisciplinary graduate program, students employing sculpture and installation can pursue a range of practices from the creation of discrete objects to fabricating experiential situations. The program embraces transdisciplinary approaches to materials and media, while delving into conceptual exploration.

Mentors can be selected from the MCAD faculty and/or the professional community of the Twin Cities. See the Recent Mentors to get a sense of who our students are working with.

“Donkeyfull Mind,” by Nooshin Hakim Javadi and Pedram Baldari — a tour of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden led by a live donkey, August 2019

Regional Sculpture Parks

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker — open 365 days a year, from 6 am to 12 midnight.
Franconia Sculpture Park — 43-acre outdoor sculpture park and active artist residency with year-round programming
Silverwood Park — features sculpture walk and gallery; facilitates nature appreciation
Western Sculpture Park — Saint Paul’s sculpture park with most diverse populations in Twin Cities
Anderson Center Sculpture Park — located in Red Wing, a 15-acre park

Darren Schneibel ’21 and Jane Powers ’98 at Fall Show 2020

Selected Twin Cities Museums

Walker Art Center — internationally recognized multidisciplinary contemporary art center
Minneapolis Institute of Art — comprehensive art museum showcasing the world’s diverse cultures
Weisman Art Museum — designed by Frank Gehry; offers wide-ranging exhibitions, talks, and symposia
Minnesota Museum of American Art — showcases the unique voice of American artists from the 19th century to the present.

Sieng Lee ’14

Selected Regional Events

Art Shanty Projects — each winter, using lake ice as a relatively unregulated public space to expand the notions of what art can be.
Northern Lights — supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, focusing on innovative uses of technology and civic engagement; organizes Northern Spark Festival, Creative City Challenge, and Art(ists) on the Verge
Creative Mornings – every month, a free event that gathers to foster a united and connected creative community: features a speaker from the creative community, plus coffee/breakfast.
Pollen Midwest – invests in human connection to fuel momentum for social change (hosts breakfast meetings with speakers)

Jocelyn MacDonald ’21

Selected Regional Public Art Resources

The Twin Cities’ thriving arts community also has several organizations, which support many approaches to public practices:

Forecast Public Art — fosters public art, community-engaged design, and transformative placemaking; also publishes Public Art Review
Public Art St. Paul — places artists in leading community roles to help shape public spaces, improve city systems, and deepen civic engagement.
Minneapolis Art in Public Places — integrating public art into city planning, service design, and infrastructure. Commissions and conserves works
Weisman Art Museum’s Target Studio for Creative Collaboration — a workspace/ convening space/ laboratory/ gallery/ classroom dedicated to collaborations between artists and scholars
Water Bar and Public Studio — initiates public engagement on water issues, honoring local culture/ knowledge; the MCAD MFA Program has 2 funded fellowships with Water Bar

Regional Maker Spaces:

Twin City Maker
Nordeast Makers
Minneapolis Make
Fireweed Community Woodshop (formerly Women’s Woodshop)
MN Tool Library
White Bear Lake Makerspace
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (classes include neon and heavy metals)
FOCI Glass Center (everything glass plus neon again)
Northern Clay Center
Textile Center
Duluth MakerSpace: https://duluthmakerspace.com/
Mankato Makerspace: https://www.mankatomakerspace.org/

Jack Pavlik ’13

Regional Funding

Additionally, MCAD’s MFA program can help you apply to several regional sources of funding. For some awards, you can apply during the summer between your first and second year to receive funding in the months after graduating.

Art(ists) On the Verge (AOV)
Silverwood Park Annual Call
Creative City Challenge
Jerome Foundation Grants
Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program
Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Grants
Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants (can apply as a student, but project cannot be associated with your degree program)
McKnight Foundation Grants
Midway Contemporary Art Visual Arts Fund
Red Eye’s Works-In-Progress Program
and more (the funding environment in MN is ever-evolving and growing)

MCAD Main Campus 3D Shop

Facilities

You can check out our facilities on our virtual building tour. MCAD’s 8,000-square-foot 3D Shop contains facilities for wood, metal working, and plaster; a foundry for bronze and aluminum casting; spray booths; and digital fabrication equipment. The 3D Shop also posts a lot of resources online.

There is a composites lab space to accommodate fiberglass and other resin based casting systems. A large temperature controlled spray booth, color balanced lighting and HVLP hook ups is also a part of this shop.

Digital Fabrication

Several 3D printers capable of printing in several materials, including a Statasys F370 for printing objects as large as 14″x10″x14″
3D scanners for digitizing real-world objects and environments
2 CNC routers(Large: 48″x96″x2″ capacity and small: 24″x36 x6″ capacity.)
A machining lab with a Tormach milling system plus a traditional mill and metal lathe
2 Laser cutters/engravers

One of multiple CNC machines

Metal Shop

Ceramic shell investment casting equipment for bronze, etc., English wheel, Forge with forced-air furnace, Hydraulic iron worker, Metal lathes, Milling machines, Pipe and tube benders, Plasma cutter, Plate shear, Sheet metal fabrication equipment, Welders (oxy-acetylene, MIG, and TIG)

Wood Shop

Bandsaws, Jointers, Lumber mill, Mortise machine, Panel saw, Planers, SawStop table saws, Wood lathes

Additional Equipment

Electronics prototyping workstations, Industrial sewing machines, Vacuum former and sheet bender for plastics

Nicholas Kovatch ’13, National Endowment for the Arts Fellow (MacDowell Colony), 2014

Professional Practices & Career Development

Each semester, we host a series of talks/workshops focused on professional practices (alumni are invited to attend, and we feature alumni as speakers when possible). Topics range widely and are selected based on current student interests and suggestions.

Private tour at Whitney Museum of American Art (2019 NYC Trip)

Travel

Each year, the MFA program takes a trip to either New York City or Los Angeles where we visit MCAD alumni studios and offices, in addition to all the rich art and design resources these cities offer.

MCAD MFA students are also invited to apply for summer abroad experiences via the WorkArt Fellowship Program (Germany), Burren College of Art’s Summer School (Ireland), DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia (Copenhagen or Stockholm),or USF’s Paris/Venice/London program (alternating locations depending on year). International travel is an optional added cost for MFA students (not required).

Visiting Artists

Visiting artists, designers, and critics are a central element of Graduate Critique Seminar. Each week a visitor is invited to present their work and critique two students’ work during class. By the time a student has completed the MFA Program, they will have seen approximately 30 different in-class visitors. Additionally, the MFA Program regularly invites artists for clusters of studio visits.